Virtual Reality
by Soulsearcher Ironforge
Summary: This is most definitely an AU fic. In a world where the internet can seem just as real as reality, join five boys who get caught up in a conspiracy, and find themselves on the run in both the real world, and a place where what happens there can kill you
1. Chapter 1

… I'm doing it again, neglecting yet another fic for a brief moment of inspiration. Bugger.

Avalan: Don't blame me for your lack of feck, oh ye feckless one. (1)

I have feck… I just left it at home… next to my brain and common sense. But anyway, this is very new to me. It has only been brewing in my vast cornucopia of imagination for a couple of days now, but I needed to write it out. Please read, it's not as bad as you think!

Duo ducked the rock thrown by his 'class mate' and hastily opened the front door to his house and closed it behind himself. His heart was beating fast, too fast to be healthy, really, as it struggled to supply blood to his shaking and sweaty body. He couldn't breathe, and he could tell that soon he would be coughing. If it got any worse he might even faint. 

Why did the cool kids take such pleasure out of harassing the unhealthy kid? It was so cruel, and it wasn't the first time it had happened. 

Duo's health wasn't a question of fitness, not by a long shot. It was a question of his lungs and heart. They couldn't handle hard work. Duo often found himself breathless after merely running up the stairs. 

Duo slowly slid to the floor and leant his head against the black lacquered door for comfort. It felt like he was being strangled from the inside.

He slowly slipped his backpack off, careful not to tug in his long braid of silky brown hair, and laid it next to him. If he could get to his room he would be fine. He would be powerful. Free. 

Legs shaking, he raised himself to his sneakered feet, and stumbled up to his room, discarding his black denim jacket.

He sat down at his desk, booted up his computer, and picked up his VR helmet. It fit snugly over his messy bangs, and was much more effective than a monitor. He reached out, and tapped twice on the Internet button with a suddenly steady finger.

Name? Shinigami

Password? OBEY THE GOD OF DEATH

*~*~*~*

Heero stared pensively at the metal frame. It was an ugly thing, looking more like a torture device than any way to access the web, but he wasn't complaining. It was the most advanced version of anything available, not yet known about by the public, and it was unlikely they ever would.

It also gave a much more realistic trip. 

There was only one draw back. It was the same for everyone. If you got hurt there, your body felt it here. It was a wonderful way to kill people without ever leaving your room. If, that is, there weren't any other people around. That was what he was for. He tried to keep order, and the number of ruthless cyber murders down. That was what he had been trained for, possibly the best hacker on the planet and surrounding colonies.

Heero sighed as the door behind him opened, and his mentor, J, came into the dingy little room filled to over flowing with electrical equipment.

With a nod of acknowledgement, he moved over to the contraption taking up half the room, strapped himself in, pulled down the bulky viewer helmet, and entered his details when the screen popped up for them.

Name? 01

Password? W!nG (2)

*~*~*~*

Peacecraft turned around and smiled at Nymph39. The sun was setting behind the two and they had just come over the ridge to the nearest host site. In other words, a city. 

"So, shall we go take a look?" Peacecraft asked, already knowing the answer, tucking some of her pastel pink, streaked with darker pink and white, hair behind her ear as it was blown out of place by a slight breeze. 

"Do you need to ask?" Nymph39 asked, quirking a forked dark blue eyebrow at the other girl. "Honestly Peace," she said, shaking her head, sending her light blue, shoulder length hair in millions of miniscule plaits flying, "after at least two years of hanging out together, I would have though that you'd know what I would and wouldn't like to do," she sniffed.

Peacecraft shrugged her bare tanned shoulders. "It was curtesy to ask. Let's get going, ne?"

The other nodded assent, and started off down the hill. Peacecraft paused a moment to watch her. The graphics her new system gave her were simply amazing. Then again, her father, the 'wonderful' Mr. Darlian, would allow no better for his daughter.

That was why she came here, It was a place for her to unwind in the company of her good internet friend. Where she didn't have to be perfect all the time. Where she could stop trying to convince people that fighting led to only more fighting and get her hands a bit dirty herself. Her mother would freak if she knew that her daughter was one of the infamous two rogues that plagued the internet. No murders or anything mind you, just a bit of fun.  But it didn't matter too much to her. After all, it was only a game, wasn't it?

Lost in her own thoughts and red eyes focused firmly on the small black tattoo of a heart made of thorns on the lower back of her best friend, she continued down the hill. (3)

*~*~*~*

Sandrock sat across from Triton, his chin resting pensively on his knitted fingers as he gazed at the other young man. His dark purple, almost black hair was tied loosely but neatly behind himself, and his large violet eyes were locked on Triton's. 

"So… how are you?" Triton asked, feeling himself blush slightly under the intense gaze of his partner. 

Triton himself had shoulder length hair that was also tied back into a small warrior's tail at the base of his skull, his fringe which was integrated into the rest of his fiery hair neatly covering one deep green eye. 

Sandrock smiled warmly and crossed his legs beneath the table, momentarily brushing his knees against Triton's. 

"Fine, thankyou. You just look weird here."

The two had met at high school, and given each other their user names so they could meet online. This would be their first meeting.

"I'm still getting over your hair change myself. Who knew that such a light creature could hide a almost gothic alter ego?" Triton answered with a slight smile.

Sandrock flushed and tugged at one of his half gloves. "You think the nail polish's too much?" he asked wryly.

Triton looked down, surprised. He hadn't noticed the black nails before. They were clipped short and immaculately painted, glossy in the bad light of the club/ chat room they were in. Then Triton laughed. 

"Only a Winner could get away with black nails and crossed legs. But black looks good on you, why don't you ever wear it IRL?" (4)

Sandrock sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Not with my father. Allah forbid that the heir to the Winner fortune wear anything even remotely stylish."

Duo's ears perked up from his position a few booths away. Did that young man in black leather just mention the words 'heir' and 'fortune'?! This he would have to investigate. 

Briefly removing his helmet, it would look like to everyone else in the chat room that he brought his hands up to his ears then dropped them again, suddenly vacant and staring off into the distance.

Duo quickly accessed the boys account, and went through all the necessary procedures to hack into his computer. Soon he would know for certain.

*~*~*~*

Heero entered the bar and glanced around. It was an almost shady looking room, but surprisingly popular to the younger generation. He was instantly assessing the place for any possible dangers, and identified a alternative way out if the front door was blocked. Everything seem as per usual, bar the young man istting in the corner.

His long white hair was drawn about him almost like a cape, and was filled with flecks of different, bright colours. His bare pale arms were resting limply on the table he was sitting at, and his wide purple eyes held nothing. He was an empty shell. 

Heero frowned. Either that young man was just answering the phone, or he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing. He opened the man's stats and previous record. 

Although there was no listing of his actual name or location, he was wanted for several hacking and petty cyber thievery charges. Heero sneered He would ignore the boy. He was obviously someone of merit if he hadn't been identified yet, but he was still trash. Heero didn't need to, and wouldn't deal with him unless he did something overly suspicious. He moved over to the vacant boy's table, and sat down opposite him, waiting for 'Shinigami' to come back to his post.

(1) Confused? I know I am. Feck is… how do you describe feck. It's a combination of strength and brain. 

Wufei: To be feckless is to be weak and pathetic! Trust the onna to be feckless.

*narrows eyes* If anyone else here says, thinks or breathes in a way that is even remotely sexist, then you'll all pay the price. 

Avalan: *hastily hides is 'I'm a misogynist, ask me how, weak woman!' badge that had been pinned to his front*

(2) Incase you can't tell, that's me trying to make the word 'wing' look interesting… It didn't really work. To tell you the truth, I can barely read it… But that's beside the point.

(3) O.o… dear god, what have I done?! I've been NICE to Relena and scissor-brow girl… I feel… unclean…*shivers*

Avalan: *pats her on the back* It's okay, you have plenty of time to beat up on them later.

*sob* but you don't understand, I've made them part of the PLOT!

Avalan: There's a plot?

*SMACK*

(4) IRL: In Real Life incase anyone has no idea what I'm talking about.

You might be thinking, 'where in the name of Aunt Petunia's cabbage-less coleslaw is Wufei?!'… or something along those lines, but trust me, he will appear… next time. I would really love if people would review this, but please, if you're going to flame me, flame me with something slightly more useful than saying that someone would do/say/look like this or that. If you want to bag my writing style, I don't mind. If you're going to bag my interpretation of an AU Quatre or something, then go beat up a pillow instead. But still, REVIEW! … Please? ^_^'


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everybody! 

Random people: Hi doctor Soul!

Ahem. I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed me… all three of you! 

**Reha:** You know what, before you asked, I hadn't actually thought about pairings. To tell you the honest to Mike truth, I've never written 1x2, 1+2, 3x4, 3+4, or any other pairings in my life. I'm just not a very romantic soul. But… perhaps. It all depends on whether anyone else wants pairings, and whther I'm emotionally prepared to write them. 

**Goddess-of-Death: **Your prayers have been answered.

Random people: Halleluiah! 

What's up with that…

**ShadowEyedCat:** I've updated already! Don't hurt the authoress, or you'll never get any more chapters…. Heh… you wouldn't really hurt me, would you?

Random person #1: *pulls out kazoo and plays X-files theme on it*

Okay, that's it… *pulls out bazooka*

Avalan: Okay, ignoring the carnage, here's the next chapter!

Duo leant back in satisfaction, and stretched. That guy hadn't been kidding. He really was the heir to a very, very substantial sum of money.  Duo slipped his VR helmet back on, and started where he sat. 

There was a thoroughly menacing looking teen sitting opposite him – with steel grey hair tipped with blood red, cut short, but with an unruly fringe still half-covering his stormy eyes.  

"Um… Hi there!" Duo greeted cheerfully, hiding his suspicion with a remarkably blank look and lop-sided grin. It worked wonders at school, leaving most people thinking he was a perky idiot as well as a weakling, but it did help make people avoid him.

The boy opposite him, whom Duo recognised to be about his age, glared.

"What were you just doing?"

"Me? Just…" Duo trailed off into silence and leant back casually in his booth. Did not actually admitting that he was hacking into the account of a future multi-billionaire count as lying?

The newcomer raised a silver eyebrow. Heero decided being polite as a tactic.

"Mr. Shinigami, you would probably find it much easier to just tell me. You don't want things to seem suspicious, do you?"

Shinigami stared levelly at him for a moment, suddenly seeming serious and mature, before his face crumpled, and he burst out laughing.

"_Mr. Shinigami_!?! That sounds SO corny!"

Heero groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long night.

*~*~*~*

Sandrock sat forward again and smiled.

"So, how are you?"

Triton shrugged and replied simply with: "Usual."

Sandrock resisted the urge to roll his eyes with almost inhuman restraint enforced by boring board meetings. His friend must have almost used up his word limit for the night.

"How's your sister?" Sandrock asked, trying once again to stir up some conversation.

Triton frowned slightly. "Same as usual."

That generally meant suborn and sometimes scary. After their parents had died, Triton's older sister, just out of high school herself, was forced to look after Triton herself. Thankfully enough, they had been left a large lump of money, enough to get Triton though a decent private school as well as the welfare money. Catherine was very protective of what he did and who he talked to, so he generally found talking to people over the internet was easier than inviting them over.

Sandrock shook his head, vaguely amused. He had seen the mood that his friend had been in after the siblings had fought over whether or not Triton could go to a concert in town. From the way it had been described it sounded like the whole thing had been a clash of the titans. 

"I don't know which of you two is more stubborn." He explained, smiling wryly.

Triton opened his mouth to reply, but shut it quickly when a gunshot sounded from inside the building.

*~*~*~*

Both Heero and Duo jumped at exactly the same time, leaping up from their spots opposite each other to face the attacker.

The bar was substantially emptier, the people who were still thinking reasonably having gone off line. The others were screaming and cowering away from the man in the doorway.  

Keeping his shotgun trained on the people in the room, the frantic man screamed "Get on the floor and stay there or I'll blast your brains out! Gimme your account numbers!" 

Duo crouched, and started creeping forward on his hands and knees. A hand caught one of his legs, stopping him, and he turned and glared at 01.

"Get back and stay down." 01 monotoned, his eyes somehow empty of all emotion. If Duo hadn't been so full of adrenaline, he might have been scared of the boy.

"Not a chance."

01 dragged him back by his ankle like he weighed nothing until he was behind, then let go. "Stay here." He said, slight urgency in his voice. He continued on ahead, leaving Shinigami behind to fume.

*~*~*~*

Wufei stopped as he heard screaming from inside the door of the chat room where he was supposed to be meeting his business partner and long-time friend, known only as Shinigami. Something was definitely up, and he something twisted in his gut.

He pushed the door slightly inwards, and his black eyes instantly widened. 

It was a hold up, most likely for pin and account numbers. When working in a team, bandits could clear out many people's life savings before they could alert the manager. It cost many people their livelihood, and was virtually untraceable. 

Thankfully enough, this criminal didn't seem particularly smart. Not only was he robbing a room filled with hysterical teenagers (who weren't known for the size of their bank accounts), but also he was standing close enough to the door that if he swung it hard enough, Wufei might have been able to hit the felon hard enough to make him drop his gun.

 It was worth a shot if he could help save some innocent people. The weak shouldn't be fighting, but they shouldn't they be caught up in it either.

*~*~*~*

Duo sat, his back against the table leg that he had been sitting at what seemed like ages ago, but in reality, only a few moments had passed since 01 had started off on his own. He was pondering.

There had to be a way he could help without getting in 'wonder boy's' way. He planned out what he would do. First, he would get over to the only other two people that appeared to be thinking reasonably, which was, ironically, the heir to the Winner fortune, Quatre Winner, and his friend. Then, he would plan and cower with them. It was all he had, but it was good enough for the time being.

He checked to see what the stocky man with the gun at the front of the room was doing, then when he deemed it was clear, he sprinted out, behind the bar, and gestured wildly to the other two.

Quatre's friend looked up, double-took, then tapped the other man's shoulder. After a few seconds of whispered arguing, the tall, lanky friend started off first and dove behind the bar. They were both whispering frantically at him and gesturing madly when the man turned and pointed the gun straight at Quatre.

 "Winner!" He cried, sounding almost triumphant, and took steadier aim. 

Duo didn't even think, but just shot forward in front of the frightened heir, pushing both of them over slightly, as the gun went off.

"NO!"

*~*~*~*

Heero dove for the man's legs a split-second too late, just after he had fired, and knocked him backward, clinging fiercely to his shins. At the exact moment that he started to fall, the door to the chat room swung violently open, and slammed into the side of his head. 

An unknown Asian boy dove on top of him, cursing in what Heero identified as Chinese. 

To both of the boy's amazement, the gun was still in his hand. It was like it was super glued in place. Heero glared, then turned back towards his target. 

"You shot him, you bastard!" the other boy yelled, practically strangling him as he beat his head again and again into the ground. The man with the gun shook the two of them off and sat up, swearing violently. He trained the gun at Heero's head and was about to pull the trigger when it suddenly disappeared. 

After a moment of stunned silence, the two attacked once again.

*~*~*~*

Duo tried to ignore the pain in his shoulder as he, for the second time in a night, removed his visor. He had worked it out.

There was no way in hell that the man could actually have a working gun on the internet. It wasn't feasible that a person would be able to buy one, as sales were banned, and even if they had been bought, they would be delivered to a person's home, like any other sale. That meant that the man had somehow managed to include the gun as a part of himself, and item that he was automatically supplied with.

It was the only possible answer.

So he had to get the gun out of his program.

The thick and warm blood running in rivulets down his arm didn't help his typing very much, but Duo somehow managed to have the man hacked in record time. 

Running though his profile like a man possessed, Duo finally found the appropriate file, and deleted it.

*~*~*~*

"Oh Allah, there's so much blood!" Quatre sobbed, tying a torn piece of his down shirt around the young man who had possibly just saved his life's shoulder. His finger shook, but eventually he got a knot tied. 

Trowa, sitting next to him and cradling the unknown boys head was trying to comfort him, but to not avail. His wide, lavender eyes were staring vacantly at the ceiling, and both seemed to have forgotten that the world that they were in wasn't real. Trying to stop the bleeding here wouldn't help in the real world. Only the boy could save himself.

Over by the front of the bar, the two other boys were still struggling to subdue the man. The Asian one was swearing the entire time, but the other only grunted when their assailant landed a punch. 

Heero suddenly met the eyes of the boy struggling opposite himself, then let go of the arm of the attacker. He sprang out of their grip, and stumbled out the door.

The boy in Quatre's lap suddenly blinked and started breathing steadily again, instead of the shallow, widely spaced breaths he had been taking before.

"Did I get there in time?" He asked shakily.

"Yes I'm fine, but oh god, you were shot, how can I ever thank you…" Quatre's lower lip trembled, and the started sobbing again.

Duo blinked, unsure what to say. Blood loss was leaving him slightly dizzy, and so he just said "Yes, but did I get rid of the gun in time?"

Heero strode though the discard chairs and frightened people milling around to where Shinigami lay.

The Asian followed, ranting.

"How could you let him go like that, you weakling?!" He demanded through a split lip.

Heero turned, inwardly annoyed and glared with a black eye. The left side of his face would be a wonderful mixture of brised purple, blue, red and black when he woke up the next morning.

"I managed to access his stats. I know exactly who he is, and where he lives." Heero reasoned.

The asian boy quietened abruptly, and turned to look Shinigami, who was wake, though only barely, with his whiter hair splayed out on the black-wearing boy's lap.

Heero frowned. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't been trained to deal with sobbing boys, or attempting congratulatory speeches.

"You got rid of the gun?" he finally asked.

Shinigami nodded smiling faintly. "Some of my best work yet. Record time, if I must say so myself." Somehow, he still managed to sound cocky. Even being shot couldn't silence this boy's cheerful spirit.

Heero grunted and turned away.

The Asian crouched next to Shinigami.

"What took you so long, Shen-kun?"

'Shen-kun' frowned. "It's Shenlong. Argh, what am I talking about, you should get out of here and get yourself medical attention!"

Shinigami gave him shaky thumbs up and a wink, then disappeared. 

"That boy saved my life… Who was he?" Quatre said quietly. 

Shenlong grunted. "A friend of mine. Shinigami."

Quatre looked up, pale, but determined. "I have to meet with him again."

*~*~*~*

Duo stumbled back downstairs and into the sitting room. The former sister Helen, his adopted mother, looked up from her book and screamed. 

"Duo, what's happened to you, you're as white as a sheet…. Oh, look at all that blood, just sit there on the couch while I get an ambulance."

Duo complied and stared dreamily about. He could barely feel his wound anymore, even though it was throbbing. 

"It's just a scratch…"

Helen put her hand over the receiver and glared fiercely, tears standing out in her eyes.

"'Just a scratch' my… oh, hello officer, it's my son, he's bleeding…"

*~*~*~*

Quatre stared defiantly up at his father. It was time for a reality check. Ever since the night that the valiant Shinigami had thrown himself in front of a bullet that was intended for himself, he had felt weak. He was the best fencer in the state and one of it's best horse riders, but what was that going to get him in the long run? He needed experience. He needed to get out of his stuffy private school filled with ludicrously rich people and back with the normal people.

"Father, I want to change to a normal high school."

"What? But Quatre, I've placed you in that school for your own good. It will supply you with the best education that money can buy!"

"But that's the problem, father, it's your money." Quatre said, perfectly seriously, but almost sad and subdued. "I want to know that if I ever need to, I can get though life on my own. I need to feel more independent. Besides, I'll already have a friend there, Trowa, a boy from my class transferred today."

His father spluttered for a few seconds, then went silent. Something in his boy's eyes wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer.

"… If you insist."

Oooh, and we have high school! ^__^ I liked this chapter, even though I did write it all in one shot. Sometimes that's the best way for me to write things, all in a clump. Well, that's left me feeling happy, and I only need to update one more story before I can do other stuff! *sigh* It's gonna be a looooong night.

Avalan: You said it sister.

Hn.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey! People actually said hi! Yay! Thanks to all!

**Vic: **Don't stop glomping Wu, there's nothing wrong with it! Yay!

Wufei: That's what you think.

Yeah, well, we never listen to you. So it doesn't matter. And yes, the internet thing is dangerous, isn't it? But that's half the fun. Well, to me. 

**Reha: **back again, I see. Yes, I wasn't really sure about the romance thing, I think comradeship is about as close as they're gonna get… for a while. I like the guys on line as well. I think they're cool. 

**Dreamweaver:** Problem solved.

**ShadowEyedCat: **Yay! Don't hurt the author! And sorry about the length, that was just the only feasible place to cut things off.

Duo walked into school, finally released from hospital, a week later, once again wearing his black denim jacket. With his back t-shirt underneath and black cargo pants, he felt about ready to face the world. He had, tucked securely away in his bag, his sketching pad, ready for his next physical education lesson. He hadn't participated in one in years, but he was still required to go. So he sat at the sidelines and drew, occasionally helping their (very scary) teacher to collect balls and cones. 

Duo had always called him the stereotypical sport teacher, as he was an ex-military, buff, shorts wearing midget. He also treated Duo like he was a scourge of the earth because he had a doctor's certificate saying that he couldn't do anything that involved running. But Duo wasn't complaining. It gave him time to think… and more importantly, decide what he was going to wear online that night. He made an effort to change his outfit at least twice a week, and PE gave him the time he needed to design things. 

He was plotting something in fishnet and leather when he walked into the gym.

Everyone else was practically all there, milling around in the vague formation of a line. 

Surprisingly enough, the two real jocks of the class weren't there. Not very surprising, however was the fact that both of the new students were missing. It took everyone a while to get used to the lay out. Duo smiled slightly, just picturing the two standing around outside the science block, on the completely wrong side of the school.

"Maxwell!"

Duo resisted the urge to shudder, and turned around to smile brightly at Mr. Payne. 

"Good morning sir. Do you want me to get anything from the supplies shed?"

"What I want you to do, is get changed!"

Everyone in the gym went silent. No one could remember a time in living memory when Duo Maxwell had worn the school's sport uniform.

"We're doing javelin and discus today, so I don't see any reason why you can't join in. Hop to it!"

"Yessir!" Duo squeaked, abandoning his bag, and heading with slightly shaky legs towards the change rooms. 

Even though it had been a while since he had used it, Duo still had a locker in the change rooms, and he did have a uniform in it. 

When he entered the room, he noticed the two jocks of the class changing with the two newbies. The four people Mr. Payne wouldn't mind running late.

He resisted the urge to groan. They were standing around near his locker, and the last thing he wanted to do was change near them. Duo was a rather slight person, and rather thin. Helen was always claiming that he was a walking skeleton. And then there was also the thick padding and bandage over his left shoulder.

He didn't want to answer the inevitable questions that would come up. That was why he was wearing his jacket, to hide the obvious padding. 

Duo walked up to his locker and smiled quickly at the others. 

Heero Yuy and Chang Wufei. They excelled at all sports. Although they weren't popular (possibly because of their personalities) everyone made way for them in the corridors. Both remarkably short for their ages, and seeming rather thin, but they both had wiry muscular bodies and very stern eyes. Wufei had black hair that was caught back in a very tight warrior's tail at the back of his head, and Heero had hair that looked like it had been attacked by a weed whacker. Duo wasn't sure which won, but the results was hair that never seemed to look neat. His dark brown fringe fell into his eyes and somehow made him look wild, while other bits almost seemed to stick out in places.

The other two he merely identified at 'newbies'. The first was short, about his height, with bright blonde hair and wide, clear blue eyes. He boy with him was taller, and rather thin. Gangly. His eyes were firm and green, and his brown hair was short at the back, but ridiculously long at the front, his fringe swept to one side and hiding an eye as it defied gravity. While the blonde one looked approachable, the tall one seemed to keep to himself.

Duo removed his jacket with only a small amount of trouble, trying to ignore the twinge in his arm, and attempted to take off his shirt. He knew he should have worn something that buttoned up.

On his third try, he got the shirt off, and clutched his bandaged shoulder as it protested.

Heero inspected it with suspicious eyes as Wufei raised a thick black eyebrow.

"What happened?"

Heero lifted up the side of the bandage and peered inside, ignoring the indignant squeaks of the bandage's wearer.

Duo swatted him away and looked distinctly nervous.

"Bullet exit wound." He said. It was fairly obvious.

Duo laughed nervously, without humour.

"Now why would you say that?"

"Because you have a bullet-shaped hole in our shoulder."

Duo turned around and started fiddling with his lock.

He never lied.

"What happened?" Wufei demanded again, wondering why he didn't hear about this on the news. People always made a fuss when minors got shot.

"I got shot, what do you think, I tripped and fell on a bullet?" Duo muttered darkly, still twisting at his lock. He paused for a second, the slammed his fist into it near the bottom of the door making a huge banging noise.

Everyone else in the room jumped and went quiet.

Duo waited, then smile with glee as his locker slowly swung open. 

"Hah! Still got the knack!"

Quatre relaxed. "Why did someone shoot you?" He asked, concerned. He was getting some very weird feelings from the boy, something that felt something like… pride?

Duo turned around and grinned at them. He wasn't going to lie, and it didn't really seem to matter anyway. Who would actually believe his story?

"Actually, I used myself as a human shield then bravely used my superior skills in hacking to save the life of the heir to a very substantial sum, and several bystanders when the chat room we were in was held up by a manic with a shot gun."

Everyone else stared at him, shocked.

"… what?"

*~*~*~*

Duo raised an eyebrow as he leant against one of the trees outside at lunchtime. He smiled wryly, then shook his head slowly.

"I'm never going to look at GOD sites the same way again." 

Wufei grunted, his hands in the pockets of his white pants, clearly uncomfortable at meeting his partner in person.

GOD sites are originally set up by Duo, and it was a host site that was rather popular. He took Shenlong on as a partner a little while ago, and instantly gave him his full trust by giving him 49% of the stock. That left Duo in charge, but Wufei was still important. For his birthday the year before, Duo had given him something that made the two of them equal partners. 1% of God Of Death Site's shares, leaving both of them with 50%. 

"I never expected that a meat-headed jock could be intelligent enough to run things… you learn new things every day."

"Meat-headed?! You call _me_ meat-headed, you long-haired onna-wannabe?! "

Duo grinned again, knowing to ignore all the insults. They were just made in fun. "No doubt about it, you're Shen-kun."

Duo's cover had been blown in the biggest way. The largest secret of his life had just rolled over and died. And Quatre had glomped him.

"You saved me!"

Duo's eyes widened, and then locked on Trowa.

"Lemme guess," he started dryly, "You're his friend from the chat room?"

"Correct."

"Typical."

Wufei had revealed himself by saying the totally unsubtle line of "YOU'RE Shinigami? How the hell did an incompetent person like you ever run things without me?"

When the five had come out of the locker rooms and headed up to class, thing were infinitely different.

Heero was still as cold and distant as usual, but he kept sending suspicious glances at the other four.  Trowa was sending Duo concerned glances, and well as sticking closer to his blonde friend than usual. Quatre was nattering to Duo about how grateful he was, and Duo was only half listening. He and Wufei were too busy shooting weirded-out glances at each other.

Duo looked away from Wufei and glanced at Heero across the other side of the field. He was glaring at the two. 

Duo's senses told him that Heero knew more than he was letting on. He had looked as shocked as everyone else when they had realised who the others were, but didn't say anything. Not that that was unusual, but Duo knew he had seen him before, he just couldn't quite place his face.

Quatre came running up from across the field, Trowa trailing casually behind him, and stopped close to the two partners, panting, but still smiling infectiously. 

Ever since he had found out that it had been Duo who had saved him, he had practically hero-worshipped him. 

Not that Duo minded or anything, Quatre was a nice boy, and his friend Trowa accepted him. And Wufei hadn't left to go the library or gym yet… odd.

Could it be possible that he might have friends?

*~*~*~*

Heero glared at the four from his bench. It was just his luck that the four people that he didn't particularly want to see again would be in his school. His lunch of a mandarin sat on his lap, untouched as he thought and glared.

Something about the hold up in the bar was bugging him. His instincts told him that something was wrong with the picture. He needed to talk to witnesses, and the people it concerned. That meant that… he had to approach the heir and his strange friends again.

Resigned to the task at hand, Heero stood up and made his way purposefully across the field towards the tree that the four were standing under.

"Meet me at The Room tonight around eight. We have things to discuss." Heero stated, before turning around and heading back towards is seat.

"I KNEW IT!" Duo yelled like he had just discovered the cure for cancer, "you're 01!"

Heero kept walking, trying to ignore the frustration building up inside himself.

"Duo, what are you talking about?" Quarter asked, and Duo started babbling about his plot and instincts.

Heero sighed. Way to proclaim it to the known universe, baka.

Heero sat down on his bench and wondered vaguely why he had ever agreed to help J.

*~*~*~*

Otto really hadn't wanted to go into that office. Failure was unacceptable, especially at such an important time. But those two little brats had really beaten the snot outta him, and someone deleted his gun file. If that white haired wench hadn't thrown himself in front of that bullet, all their problems would have been solved. 

And so now he was fired. He had picked up his personal possessions, and was walking out the front of Winner Enterprises when the personal assistant to the assistant director walked down the steps behind him.

"Mr. Otto, you're forgotten something."

Otto turned around. 

Bang.

"Mr Kushrenada doesn't tolerate failure."

Ms. Une turned around and opened her mobile, ignoring the other henchmen that had appeared to deal with the body, and get rid of the blood on the pavement. It was a good thing this was a private road, because otherwise he would have had to die in Mr. Kushrenada's office. And she didn't want to get blood on the carpet. 

"Get me Trent. Tell him we have some very important business that he needs to sort out." She deadpanned to the person on the other end of the phone.

That kid would be dead by tomorrow.

*~*~*~*

Trowa watched the faces of the others as they sat in their booth. The club they were in this time was a very popular one, filled with people dancing and booming music. Their seats were in a corner near the door, and vinyl. He never would have expected 01 to choose a place like this to meet, but then again no one would suspect five teens to plotting anything, especially here.

They agreed after several false-starts to mute all background music and after a few second of a booth full of empty-eyes, they were ready to talk business.

"I invited everyone here tonight to…" 01 started, but was cut off almost instantly.

"A party? For me? Oh, you shouldn't have! But you do realise that it's not my birthday, don't you?" Shinigami exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and doing a scarily good impersonation of a giggling teenaged girl.

01 shot him a warning glare as Shenlong rolled his eyes and Triton and Sandrock tried not to laugh.

"You see what I have to put up with?" Shenlong muttered.

"Aww, I know you love me, Shen-kun."

"It's ShenLONG!"

A girly giggle followed.

01 waited for to two to quiet down and Sandrock to stop sniggering before he continued.

"I believe that the attack on the chat room was a stage for something bigger."

That shut everyone up.

"The reasons behind this belief are as follows. A) The armed offender was on his own. This is never a good tactic, especially in such an inefficient business as pin-raiding. B) He had obviously not done such a thing before. Although his aim with his weapon was accurate…"

"You're telling _me_."

"Anyone who had done such a  thing before would know not to keep his or her back to the door, nor would they stand so close to it. He also stood around for entirely too long. An experienced raider could have collected half the account numbers and pin codes of everyone in the place during the time the man used standing around. C) He knew who Quatre was. Before he fired, the man said the name 'Winner'. Evidently, he knew what you looked like online before he entered the bar, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to tell."

Sandrock looked uncomfortable, and shifted slightly closer to Triton. 

"This implies that the man was not there for money, but to inflict damage on the heir to the Winner fortune. This is not entirely unreasonable, as there have been many threats to the Winner family before. Unfortunately, Shinigami got in the way, and the mission failed. It would have been a well-covered death, as these sorts of raid happen often on the internet, and it is not uncommon for a person to be killed. However, just because this particular plot fail, does not mean that there will not be another."

Sandrock looked very, very pale.

"You know what's ironic? I don't even want the position," he muttered. 

Triton frowned.

"So why are you telling us this?" He asked in his usual, quiet and sensible voice. But something in his one visible eye said that he was concerned for his friend.

"Because you are now all involved. If you are going to associate with Quatre, you must be aware of the risks. It is probably wiser if you aren't seen online, Sandrock. It is probably easier to be killed in here. I recommend that you stay near your house and come straight back home after school for about a month, to confirm things."

A part of Sandrock wanted to sulk and be rude to 01 for being so direct, but he knew that what he had said was probably right. So he nodded.

"Alright, I'll go now."

The others watched as Sandrock flickered and disappeared.

Shinigami pouted. "Party pooper."

Shenlong coughed. 

"Shinigami, I believe that we still haven't sorted out many of the thing that we didn't finish last night?"

With that, Shenlong pulled out several boring-looking documents and laid them on the table before his partner.

Shinigami groaned. "Don't we have secretaries for this?"

Shenlong arched fine black eyebrow and stared witheringly at Shinigami.

"Fine, fine… Who's got a pen I can borrow?"

*~*~*~*

Aria walked purposefully down one of the many long hallways in the Winner mansion looking for one of her sisters. She wasn't sure which, but she had stolen her Mills & Boons. Her long strides slowed down as she neared her brother's room.

She frowned. She knew that about know Quatre would be in the Internet, chatting to his friends or whatever else he wanted to do. So why was his door open? He almost always had it closed, especially when he was working.

She slowed down even more, then stopped dead in the doorway, terror clenching in her stomach.

"Quatre! BEHIND YOU!"

Oooh, I'm evil. I'm leaving it there, just to see how many people I drive insane. Please review na no da!

Avalan: -_-. Da no da.


	4. Chapter 4

**Reha:** You reviewed again! It's always good to have public approval, even if you're going on without it. I dunno about the shifting closer thing, it might be a sign of feelings, it might just be seeking comfort and reassurance. Who knows?

Avalan: -_-; Who cares.

*smack* Everyone but you!

**scarlettrose12: **Yay! Go people that review! I know I don't really count in that category unless I REALLY like what I'm reading, but that's beside the point. Go you!

**Sailor Aurora Helios: **Don't worry, Quatre is competent enough to take care of himself. ^__^. I still don't know about any pairings, I haven't written anything like it before but… who knows? I might, I might not. It all depends on my mood… which is right now rather manic… I tells ya, never read about three Hunter X Hunter manga in a row, it's bad for your sanity *twitches*

**ShadowEyedCat: ***ducks popcorn* Okies! 

Argh! I forgot! 

Disclaimer: I own nought but a computer which is clogged up anyway with Gravitation and Hunter X Hunter as well as endless picture files… so don't sue.

Trowa had his arm comfortingly around his friend's shoulder as he sat on his couch with a blanket around his shoulders sipping warm tea with shaking hands.

They both watched with glazed eyes as two police officers searched the room, and three paramedics looked after the unconscious body of the assassin.

"So he tried to strangle you after you came off the net?"

Quatre nodded slowly, his eyes lowered to his steaming mug. 

"When you think about it, Heero saved my life. If he hadn't have gotten me off the web when he did, I wouldn't have been able to fight back… he would have caught me unaware…" Quatre's slight from shuddered slightly. "Now I'm indebted to two people…" He smiled bitterly.

"I turned around as soon as my sister screamed, and felt the wire go around my neck just moments before it tightened. Aria ran into the room and started hitting the man, and eventually, when my vision was starting to go grey, I managed to pick up a book from my desk, and I hit him in the face with it…" There was the smile again, never quite reaching his eyes. "Who would have known that biology could come in so handy?"

Trowa attempted a smile even as dread filled him. Heero had been right. 

That was the second attempt on the Winner heir's life.

The door to Quatre study burst open, and a familiar tall man swept in. 

"Quatre my boy! I heard! What happened?"

Treize. The man who was second only to Quatre's father, but not the one to inherit it all when he died. He was young, and obviously a money-grubbing worm, but undenyingly good at his job. With his slicked cinnamon hair and cunning blue eyes, he was popular around the office, but still thoroughly untrustworthy to Quatre. He could sense the resentment sizzling off him even as he hugged Quatre and claimed he was like a son to him.

Trowa was instantly suspicious. Going by what he had heard about his man from Quatre, he wasn't to be trusted. As far as he was concerned, he could very well be behind the attacks in an attempt to get at the Winner Empire.

 "It's alright Treize, I'm fine now."

The policemen started protesting that he was destroying the crime scene, but Treize walked straight over and sat down on the couch next to the other two.

"And you must be?" Treize said, offering Trowa his hand.

"Trowa Barton. I'm Quatre's friend." He didn't take his hand, one firmly around Quatre's shoulders, and the other locked firmly between his knees.

"I see, well, you take good care of him now…"

Treize's phone rang, and he instantly fished it from his pocket.

"Hello? … yes, I'm already aware… I know it's not acceptable, tell him so… yes, of course, start preparing straight away." Treize closed his phone, and smiled thinly at the two.

"Work, you know? Well, I hope you can forgive me, but I really must get going." 

Treize breezed to his feet, and walked straight across the crime scene to the door and out.

Ms. Une, who had been waiting outside the door, pulled in behind him.

"You realise you just walked straight…"

"Yes Une, I am well aware."

Ms. Une smiled slightly. 

Trust Mr. Kushrenada to keep up appearances and tamper with the scene at the same time.

"So what will you do now?"

"Act like nothing ever happened. When things have cooled down, we'll go for the direct root of the problem."

"Yes sir."

*~*~*~*

Wufei sat at the back of the classroom, chewing on his pencil. History was as boring as ever, the teacher up front (Wufei hadn't even bothered to memorise her name) was still prattling on about a new project that was due in a few weeks, but it was to be done with a partner. With a grimace as the paint started coming off in his mouth, Wufei let off the pencil, and placed it at the front of his desk, trying to discretely deal with the chips left in his mouth.

His eyes straying around the classroom, Wufei saw that Duo, Quatre and Trowa look just as bored as he was. He could tell that Trowa and Quatre would be working together as Quatre clung to Trowa like white on rice and Trowa didn't really seem to mind, and Duo would probably manage to find himself a partner amongst the nerds. Thanks to the odd number in the class, Wufei would probably be given the option of going in a three, or doing the project alone, and he knew which one he would choose. It was always a resounding 'I'll work alone, thank you.'

When Mrs. What-his-face told everyone to pick a partner, Wufei kept his head down until a shadow was cast over his desk.

He looked up to see Duo standing there, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Wufei? You wanna work together?"

Wufei blinked, surprised.

"Well, I was just thinking that since we work so well together on the site, that we might give it a bash here?" Duo nervously babbled, clutching a folder to his chest, and running a hand nervously through his long hair, held back in a plait.

"Alright."

"Really?!" Duo asked, seeming thrilled and barely containing a grin.

Wufei raised an eyebrow in the usual 'do you even have to ask?' fashion that he was known so well for a Shenlong.

Duo instantly plopped down at the desk next to him, and started discussing the presentation.

*~*~*~*

"I'm scared you guys. I don't like admitting it, but I'm definitely scared."

The five had picked a safer spot this time, in the lush main office of Duo and Wufei, something that could only be accessed by those that they invited in, or those that picked the lock. The office was large, with twin desks that Duo called 'power desks' because they were large and made of solid and well varnished wood. Just the type of thing bosses sat behind in big companies, and they even ran to large, plush black leather chairs as well. Needless to say, the two teenaged boys looked rather out of place behind them, even though they both seemed quite at home. There was a gigantic window taking up a whole wall of the office that looked out on their empire, as it truly was. Buildings and bustling streets stretched out as far as the eye could see, and each was a site hosted by the central tower in the middle, Duo and Wufei's office building. The city was done in an old empire style, with large gardens in-between the various sections, and whitewashed buildings with terracotta roof tiles, with the occasional add-vendor setting up brilliantly coloured stalls in the middle of the wide paved streets. This is not to say that the place was un-advanced, GOD sites allowed any sort of decoration and decor inside, so long as there was no graffiti on the outside of the buildings, and it was one of the most advanced hosts around.

The office had personal touches as well, with several pictures hung on the walls that were by no means professional office-type things, including framed and signed manga covers covers, and soccer posters, and even one of Bruce Lee.

"Okay, this is the way I see it." Duo said from behind his desk, leaning forward, elbows on the desk and knitting his delicate fingers in front of his face, "We already know that someone's trying to off Quatre. The question is; what do we do about it?"

There was silence as everyone mulled it over. 

"Who is next in line for succession after yourself?" Heero asked from near the window where he had been soberly standing, staring out.

"Treize, probably." Quatre asked, slouching in his comparatively small chair facing the two desks.

"Would he ever do something like that?" Trowa asked from his chair, the twin to Quatre's and next to it.

Quatre frowned slightly. "It's possible. I've known Treize for as long as I can remember, but I don't think he's ever actually liked me. Treize was actually the heir before I was born, because my father had almost given up on having a son. But with my arrival, he was shoved out of the spotlight… I think he resented it, or at least I can feel it whenever I'm around him."

"What do you mean by 'feel it'?" Duo enquired, raising a barely visible thin white eyebrow.

Quatre failed miserably at trying not to blush, and looked down at his hands as he twisted them in his lap. "I just… feel it. I can feel other people's emotions… I go it from my mother." he finished quietly.

"Pay more attention to this ability of yours then." Wufei suggested in his usual practical tones. "If you sense anyone that feels any sort of negative feeling towards you, keep away from them." Wufei turned his head slightly to get Heero's opinion, his thick black hair, despite it's being tied back, falling over his right shoulder and draping on the desk, covering his hands like a glossy coat.

Heero nodded an affirmative. "We should all be careful though. If anyone else puts two and two together if one of us is around when another assassination attempt goes awry, then we might all be in trouble."

Everyone looked pale, but in turn, nodded.

*~*~*~*

Treize pulled out his phone, not looking up from his computer screen. 

"Tell Trent to step up the operations. He boy's father is starting to annoy me."

Aargh! I'm an idiot! Please excuse me for my moment of insnity, and thanks to everyone for telling me so I don't look like a complete and utter numb-nuts. Gomen-nasai!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Avalan: I have hog-tied the authoress because of her incompetency, and have decided that the only way to have her not make a complete and utter ass of herself is to have myself, the loyal muse, take over. *pats Soul on the head* This is for your own good.

*growls from behind the apple shoved in her mouth*

We'll get though this together. 

Ommaf o korofu!

I love you too.

**Vic:** Your wait is over! The actual chapter has been posted… and thanks for telling us.

**Devylzangyl: **Sorry… here it is! Arigatou!

**Scarlettrose: **You, that;s right, Quatre's not a feckless as he seems! I would have included something to do with a fencing foil, but I couldn't quite think of why he would have one in his study _'

**ShadowEyedCat:** Continuing!

**Reha:** Yup!

**Disclaimer:** The plot for this came from my own perverse head, but the characters that I use are most definitely not mine. *sigh*

"Quatre?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, father."

Mr. Winner smiled wearily at his son from behind his dark brown moustache and placed his silver fork next to his plate. "What's wrong, son?"

"Nothing, father. Just got a lot on my mind." 

He didn't want to burden his father with any more potential assassination attempts. Quatre hadn't told him what had happened in the bar, and wouldn't tell him about what he and his friends had decided. "So, anything interesting happening lately?"

"Treize has invited me out to dinner with him and a few associates, we're going to see the new opera opening in town."

Quatre's gut clenched with worry and suspicion, but outwardly, he smiled and nodded, propping his chin delicately up in his right hand, which still loosely held his fork. His outwardly calm expression was marred slightly by his left hand tightly gripping his knife, the whites of his knuckles showing.

Quatre's father looked at him piercingly. 

"Now you be careful while I'm gone, alright?"

Quatre nodded and smiled reassuringly, but wondered if it was himself, or his father that would need protecting that night.

*~*~*~*

"It's okay, Heero, I'll just be a sec. The secretary will hardly even know I was there, apart from the fluttering of her heart once I work my magic on her." Duo insisted, ending his sentence with a fluttering of his long, thin fingers.

Heero rolled his eyes slightly, and Wufei made an ungraceful sound, unconvinced.

"I have to agree with Yuy on this one. If Treize or even Quatre finds out what we're doing, then our asses will be on pikes before you can say 'please officer, it wasn't me!'"

Duo winked one large violet eye, and grinned. 

"Trust me."

Wufei groaned. He had heard that before.

"Why do I have the feeling I should be doing exactly the opposite?" Heero muttered darkly.

Duo waved slightly, and pushed into the front of the air-conditioned skyscraper as the sun slowly started going down behind it.

He walked confidently past the receptionist, with a slight smile on his face.

He was trying to seem like a worker that was just going in to pack up for the night, and he thought that he succeeded fairly well, and managed to get into the elevator with too much trouble. When the door closed in front of him, he relaxed slightly, and pressed the 32nd floor button.

*~*~*~*

After a few seconds, Heero walked casually around the back, with Wufei trailing behind him at a respectful distance. 

The security office was located at the back of the building on the bottom level, with a back door out into the garden surrounding the Winner Enterprises main building. 

The two walked past the door for the sake of the security camera watching over the door, and when they were out of it's view, Wufei pulled out his Polaroid camera, and held it up next to the security camera, at about the same height and quickly snapped a picture. While Wufei held it under his denim jacket to develop, Heero slipped his bag off his shoulder, and opened it, pulling out his laptop and opening it, sitting cross-legged, waiting for the system to boot up.

Wufei glanced at the picture, flashed is quickly at Heero, who nodded curtly, and pulled yet another contraption out of his bag, this time a questionable device that appeared to have been made out of straightened paper-clips that had been soldered together. 

Wufei took the device as Heero logged him, and slipped the photo into it, then stood in his tiptoes to click the device onto the side of the lens of the camera.

Wufei felt butterflies flying around in his stomach, but hopefully, the picture of the typical street scene that was in front of the camera would make it believe that nothing was happening outside the door.

Wufei gestured to Heero, who shuffled closer to the door, and attached a black cord to the side of the pin-box that would open the door with the correct code, then to the back of his lap top. The Japanese boy's fingers flew across the keyboard sitting precariously in his lap, and he frowned determinedly at the screen.

After a moment, he gave the thumbs up to Wufei, to opened the door slightly when the little light on the key-pad went green.

A rush of cool air made the hairs on his arms stand up as Wufei slipped into the dark corridor, and he went over to the little air-conditioning panel and opened it, pulling out a few wires, then changing the dial to 'hot' when he closed it again. He slunk back out the door, and closed it again. After giving Heero a thumbs up, he leant his head on the wall next to he door, and tried to force his heart from beating so quickly.

Now they had to wait.

*~*~*~*

Duo plastered a vacant smile on his face as the elevator doors opened with a perky little 'ding', and walked over to the large desk that the personal secretary of Treize Kushrenada was sitting at.

"Hello, could I please speak with Treize Kushrenada?"

The receptionist looked up and smiled slightly regretfully. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kushrenada is unavailable at this point in time. What did you want him for?"

"Oh, well, my friend Quatre said that I should come round and see him some time because Treize is supposed to be very nice, especially to friends of Quatre Winner, by the way, did I tell you that I know Quatre? He transferred to my school a little while ago, and we share some classes." Duo took a deep breath before he continued, not giving the secretary time to think. "What do you think of Quatre? I mean, he's supposed to be really friendly with all the office workers, and they're all supposed to think he's the best thing since sliced bread, so what do you think?"

The young blonde lage blinked slightly, then relaxed, leaning against her desk, her head propped up on one finely manicured hand.

"Well, he's always been very nice, ever since he was just a lad…"

Duo glanced quickly up at the security camera angled at the corner of the room, before turning his attention back to the happily chattering girl. This had better be worth it.

*~*~*~*

Heero checked his watch, then his fingers started their flurried dance once more, as he flitted through the system, uncovered the proper code, and fed it into the key-pad. 

The security guards had been given enough time to bake.

Wufei, his hand poised over the knob, turned it once again when the little light flashed green. As he slunk back into the corridor, he turned into an alcove that held the one thing that would hep this mission. His attention was focused solely on the water-cooler in the slight dip in the corridor, and the small tool in his pocket. Removing it from his loose white pants, he crouched behind the jug mounted on a dispenser, and poked a hole rather carefully near the bottom of the tank, trying to make the water seep out more than spray out.

Satisfied with his work as a small puddle started forming around the bottom of the dispenser which would hopefully run along the side of the wall to the door, Wufei slunk past the open door which led into the observation room, and waited, blending into the darkness.

Outside, Heero, satisfied by the small amount of water starting to collect on the doorstop, moved up to behind the camera, and removed the picture and it's mount. He picked up his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and made a show of walking past the door, double-taking, then stopping.

He rapped smartly on the door, then waited. 

*~*~*~*

The waiting was almost killing him. If Heero didn't get on with it soon, Wufei swore that he would just run into that bloody room, and knock both of the guards out.

The water tank was almost empty, and the water was starting to leak down this side of the corridor. Testily wiping is forehead, Wufei added 'stiflingly hot' to his list of things wrong with this situation.

Suddenly, a tap on the door cut through the silence that had been previously relieved by only the horrifyingly-loud sound of his own breathing, and the muttering of a cheesy-soap opera from in the control room.

One of the guards swore loudly, stomped out into the hallway, swore even more colourfully than before as he noticed the wetness soaking the beige carpet, and, muttering darkly, made his way over to the door.

He paused, his hand over the knob, and yelled for his partner.

"Deal with it yourself!" the other called back.

"Look, do you want tap-water until midnight, or do you want to help me stop this fucking leak?!"

A chair scraped back, and the other portly guard went over to the water-dispenser, as the other answered the door.

"Yeah?"

"Did you realise that something is leaking?"

Wufei recognised Heero's usual cool tones as he darted into the command-centre, and sat down in front of the huge screen divided up into sections, each one showing a different office. There were quite a few.

Wufei glanced up and quickly found the one with Duo and the secretary chatting on it, and then memorised the number of it, then set the recorder to record over what was happening in that room with the day-time television that was playing in one of the corner screens.

His job done, Wufei disappeared back out and into his gloomy corner again, waiting for the two incompetent guards to finished plugging the hole and mop up the mess on the floor so he could escape.

*~*~*~*

Duo started winding up the conversation as the little red light on the camera blinked off, then on again. That was his signal.

"Say, have you heard of a Marshal Curtis?"

"No, should I have?"

"Well, he's my older brother, and he's supposed to be working in this building. You see, it's his birthday today, and I want to surprise him at work. Do you happen to know what floor he's on?" Duo added a sugary smile to the occasion, and watched with satisfaction as the secretary practically melted. Right now, she would have given Duo a lung if he asked for one.

"I don't know, but I can check the files," She stood up, moved around the desk, then over into a little room in the corner. "I won't be a sec, you just wait here, honey!"

Duo smirked, then made his way around the desk. That was one of the first things that Quatre vowed to change when he became president. His father was a stickler for the old-ways, even if that involved still keeping his employees files in a cabinet, instead of on computer. And they would use that to their advantage.

He quickly tapped into Treize's daily planner, but doubted he'd find anything useful on that. Not even a psychopath like Treize would have on his schedule between a pedicure and board meeting 'kill the winner brat'. He delved deeper, bringing up his personal expenditure.

Everything was innocent but one thing. He had hired a J.M Myer for a large sum of money. And that named sounded familiar. He had read it in the paper.

Duo's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. J.M Myer was a wanted man. More specifically, wanted for auto-mobile arson.

He pulled his mobile out of his pocket with one hand as the other brought up Trieze's day plan. From 6.00-10.30 there was a 'Opera with Mr. Winner.'

Oh shit.

Duo hit speed dial, and preyed that Quatre would pick up.

"Quatre! Where's your father?!" He whispered frantically as he checked his watch. 6.15.

"Dad? He's already left to go to the opera."

"Call him! Get him out of that car!"

When the blonde secretary came out of the room, she was confused. There was an apology about to slip off her tongue to the sweet little guy that had been nice enough to chat to her, but he wasn't there anymore.

She shook her head, smiling wryly. Kids these days were so hasty.

*~*~*~*

"Father?" Quatre said as the phone that he had dialled picked up. A slight weight seemd to lift off his shoulders slightly. Duo had sounded so stressed when he picked up the phone.

"Yes, Quatre?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes son, I'm fine. Why the concern all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's nothing really, just…"

Quatre's voice trailed off as the reassuring sound of a car motor cut off, and gave way to static. The dial tone started again, and Quatre stared stupidly at the phone as something inside his chest wrenched violently.

"Fa… Father?!"

Oooh…. *munches on popcorn* I had fun writing that.

Avalan: We can tell.

*absently pushes Avalan's head into bucket of popcorn*

Avalan: Argh! My eyes! It burns!

*ahem* Please remember to review if you're going to read, and be nice! 

Avalan: *muffled by bucket* Unlike you… *runs off to find bathroom*

In the words of Schuichi, 'Cheeeesu!' ^__^


	6. Chapter 6

I have returned from the ether! *laughs manically* I just realised something, I've cut this fic off at a cliffhanger for… three chapters in a row! *snigger* *gets hit in the head with a flying box of pocky* Owwie… So, I guess that means that I shouldn't do it again this chapter?

Audience: *beans other inanimate objects at her, including motorcycle helmets, chairs and a great deal of rotten fruit*

Wahhh….

**Tara Nepion:** No need to set your friends on me! ^__^

**Scarlettrose:** Continuing!

**Devylzangyl:** Yes indeed, poor tinsy Quat-kun… I can't believe I'm being so mean to him sometimes…

**Vic:** Yes, they will get to Quat's dad!

Avalan: Or what's left of him…

*starts garrotting muse with walkman cord* heh… He didn't just say that…

**Reha:** Author's aren't evil… they were just very deprived as children. 

Avalan: *rubbing neck* That's gonna leave a mark, man!

-_-… Oh no. Although I'm sure Avvie wants to meet another muse… I don't know if it's a good idea. Entirely too much critisism and sarcasm in one room… but if you want to be a guest-host, or if anyone else does, then tell me, and I'll try to get in contact with you (if you leave your email)!

Avalan: Nooooooooooo….

**ShadowEyedCat:** Dun' worry, Soul has her _own_ supply of popcorn. *points to popcorn maker in the corner* ^__^

Disclaimer: The characters in this have been filched from Gundam Wing, and I worship them. Be that as it may, I can not claim to own them, as they are owned by Sunrise and other such officious companies. Nyah.

A black Mercedes screeched through the night and slid ponderously around the corner to the crash site, running over the curb slightly and parking in a way that in any other situation would have gotten a ticket. Almost instantly, all the doors opened, and about five burly men piled out of the car, and surrounded the seemingly frail young blonde that practically tripped over as he tried to escape the car. Almost like a phalanx of warriors, they formed up and ran as one towards the ambulance. 

Quatre burst through the ranks of the maguanaucs that were acting as his bodyguards and over to the stretcher that had a body on it covered from head to foot in white cloth. 

"You can't be here!" One of the attendants told him, trying to gently push him back to a respectful distance.

"My father… I was on the phone with him at the time… is he okay?!"

"The man in the back?" 

Quatre was escorted quickly over to another stretcher in the back of an ambulance getting ready to leave, and slid in as the door slammed shut behind him.

The man lying in the bunk hardly resembled his father any more. His face and half his body were horrifyingly burnt, his beard and eyebrows melted to his face, leaving angry red marks, and there appeared to be shards of metal and glass imbedded in the arm that he could see.

Quatre stared dumbly, his eye glassy and blank as they injected his father's arm with a clear fluid, and hooked him up to a bag filled with blood.

The trip to the hospital seemed like an eternity passing in an instant, and before he knew it, but at the same time, entirely too late he was running along side his father's stretcher into the emergency room, and filling out forms on an uncomfortable little brown couch in the waiting room. 

He didn't know how he knew, frankly he didn't care, but Quatre had a sinking feeling that his father wouldn't last the night. 

Quatre stared at his pale hands, is pale hair shadowing his face and not letting anyone else see that his eyes were dry. He couldn't cry. It seemed his feeling were so deep that he couldn't get close enough to the surface to be able to cry. 

Drowning.

The night inched on.

*~*~*~*

Trowa stared with mild interest as a shiny black car pulled up outside his suburban house. His math homework was boring anyway, so he decided to answer the door for his sister, who was in the shower.

He pushed away from his desk and trudged down the stairs and answered the door as almost exactly after the doorbell rang.

An imposing tall man was standing, his hand suspended over the buzzer. He smiled dryly, in an almost gentle way that compromised his stocky body, then held out his hand for Trowa to shake.

"Mr. Barton?"

"Yes," Trowa replied, slightly suspicious of the many men in black suits that were standing in strategic points in his front yard.

"I'm Rashid. My men and I work for Winner Enterprises, and we've come on behalf of Master Quatre."

The serious look in Rashid's eyes made his heart start instantly sinking. Something had happened.

Trowa leant out and gripped Rashid's arms with surprising strength, compared to his thin, almost waiflike stature.

"Tell me."

*~*~*~*

"You IDIOT!" 

Treize slammed his fist down on the small drinks table beside him in his private opera booth, drawing some filthy and curious looks from the surrounding groups. Treize glowered up at the weaselly little man, and waited for an explanation.

"Well, he-a- well, that is; he might not be as dead as we'd like him to be, but… he's fairly close…?" The shorter man stuttered, pulling on the collar of his denim jacket as he faced a death-glare from the normally composed man that had hired him.

"How close is fairly close?" Treize asked barely reigning in his temper, but still biting off the ends of each of his words.

"Well, he had a 25 percent chance of surviving tonight… fairly close?" Jamie whimpered, taking a step back.

Treize closed his eyes, then sat swiftly back down in his seat, delicately perching his miniture binoculars on his nose and staring through them at the scene on the stage below.

"I sincerely hope, for your sake, that he does not live to see tomorrow dawn." Treize stated, suddenly the cool, calm and collected gentleman again.

Jamie M. Myers, expert car-bomber dipped his head in acknowledgement of Treize's well-dressed back, then hurried out of the booth, closing the red velvet curtains behind him.

*~*~*~*

Duo watched with an ache forming in his chest as Quatre stood demurely at one end of the grave site.

Ironically, Quatre had finally gotten his wish to be able to wear black. Repressing that thought, Duo turned back to the eulogy that was being given by Treize and practically snarled. How a man like that could even bother lying through his teeth that he loved the Winner family and was devastated by Mr Winner's abrupt death, when he himself had arranged it was beyond him. What he despised even more was Ms. Une standing to one side of the raised platform. She was dressed in an outfit not unlike she was usually wear to the office, but in sober shades of ash grey and black. It was not her outfit that offended the braided teen so badly, but it was the fact that she was nodding her head sagely to everything that he said like she understood and believed it. Her eyes told the truth of her louder than any words could though. Her brown eyes shined with repressed mirth, and a great deal of smugness. Duo longed to wipe that smug look off her face.

His violet eyes traced lazily around the ring of mourners, compromised mostly of the many daughters and maguanaucs, all wearing various shades of mourning on their bodies and faces. Duo's gaze skipped those he didn't know, and then focused on every detail of the people he did. Stark and alone, stood Wufei. Although he stood near the back of the herd, his plain white formal robes made him seem pure and emotionless as he stood, his arms crossed staring at the ground. Trowa stood closer than necessary to the new head of Winner Enterprises, a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. Over the past day Duo could tell that the two had become closer, mostly because Trowa was the first one called upon to support his distraught friend, taking an over-night bag with him so he could stay constantly near Quatre as he mourned. Going by Quatre's usual reaction to sad things, Trowa had had enough hugs to last him a lifetime over the past few days, as he followed loyally as Quatre picked out a coffin and arranged the funeral. It had obviously been a trial by the dark circles under both of the normally pale teens eyes, but everything had gone off without a hitch. It had been the most sincere and sad funeral that Duo had ever been to, save Treize's little 'speech'. 

When the depressing occasion finally reached it's end, Duo wasn't too surprised to see Trowa getting into Quatre's limousine with him. Duo met up with Wufei, then quietly joined Heero as they walked back towards the taxi that would take them to wherever it was that Heero wanted to show them. The boy in question was wearing a tweed suit that somehow made him look smaller, and his usual scowl look more like a pout. Duo eye flickered to Wufei's downcast face, and the two exchanged a confused look as they walked side-by-side, either arms brushing.

Trowa and Quatre weren't the only ones that had grown closer. Duo and Wufei now found themselves, despite the odd pair that they made, almost constantly together in class, and meeting a lot after school. They had formed a firm friendship, and the two could now exchange what could translate as basic conversation by merely suing facial expressions. Duo raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Heero's back. 

Wufei raised both of his eyebrows in a quizzical look that explained that he knew as little as Duo did.

The trio trudged on.

*~*~*~*

Heero paused a moment, the door slightly ajar, glaring at the two in a way that displayed that no one could tough anything. _Anything._

He opened the door, and motioned the two inside.

"What in hell's creation is that thing?!"

Hee hee, this makes it four cliffies! Ooh, she's on a roll!


	7. Chapter 7

Konichiwa, minnasan! I bring you here today a very *special* edition of…. Chapterhood, with my co-host Reha! Yay! *starts clapping*

Reha: Wohoo!

And her muse… Kika!

Reha: he's not so much a muse as she is an annoyance. *mutters darkly*

Kika: Damn straight!

Avalan: *rubbing temples* oh dear. 

Kika:*pounces on Avalan* Hey hot stuff, what's shakin'?

Avalan: *screams like a girl* 

Reha: *shakes her head* Here we go…

*mutters off-side to reha* does this count as muse-abuse?

Kika: *snickers* That was an interesting sound you just made...care to do it again so I can record it?

Reha: Oh god I hope so...maybe then they'll lock her up...but then I won't have my muse anymore...oh well, not like she does any work

Heh. -_-' that's muses for you, look pretty and take up precious air.

Reha: That's a good way to describe it...maybe we can just kill um and stuff um, that way they still look pretty but the air is saved!

Kika: *is trying to get Avalan to scream into a microphone*

Yay! *eyes struggling musues*

Avalan: *escapes in record time after hearing the two authoresses comments and runs far, far away*

Kika: *pouts* I've lost another one!

Avalan: *cackles from in the distance*

Oh dear, I believe my muse has gone insane… oh well, onto the reviews!

Reha: ^___^ Funfunfunfunfun

Yup yup yup, and look who's first! Why, it's YOU!

Reha: I KNOW! I feel special!

**Reha:** Hee hee. Heero's such a nut. They're all nuts.

Reha: *sings* I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts…

*ignoring her* thankyou for reviewing yet again! I've made Treize the bad guy… cuz I could, and I thought he made a really cool suave, caniving businessman. Hee hee!

Avalan: *has reappeared, and is hiding behind Soulsearch* Plus, you're insane.

*hisses at muse*

Avalan: I rest my case.

**ShadowEyedCat: ***cackles insanely as she drags muse by his feet into a corner* But I love cutting it off! *drops muse then kicks him further into the shadows* I'm going for a record no da! 

**JMJV: **I may be a cliffie lover, but I'm a cliffie lover with _your_ entire Hikaru No Go collection. *mwahahahahahahahahaha!!*

**Scarlettrose**: Here's a reason to visit!

**Vic: **Oh please, the cliffy is not that interesting… you've already seen it *hint hint* and the only reason it stop there is if I kept going any further I'd have to keep going for several more pages. 

**Disclaimer:** I own the plot, but not the characters. Poor little Soulsearch no da…

Avalan: -_-; Suffer. Suffer the little children.

They do!! *sobs into his shirt*

Heero shot Duo a nasty look. "That 'thing' is the only way any of you are using the Internet from now on."

"You're kidding me. It looks more like a torture device." He muttered in reply, running a hand over the metal frame.

Wufei stood near the door, eyeing the large piece of machinery dubiously. He could see the VR helmet, but he didn't understand why the whole metal frame, had to keep the occupant suspended about three feet off the ground, with their arms and legs spread-eagled. On this one, he had to partially agree with Duo. It was surprising.

"The more uncomfortable you are, the more detached you become from your body, which makes it easier for your subconscious to accept what it sees in the VR helmet as real… plus it has a much better video and 3D card." Heero explained.

"Of course, that's the most important part…" Duo muttered again, almost totally immersed in his own world.

Wufei 'hummed', and stared impassively at the machine for a while longer before he stepped further into the room.

*~*~*~*

There was a small black tear painted under his left eye. That was the only sign of mourning that Sandrock allowed himself, but that didn't keep his wide indigo eyes showing the depth of his sadness. He stared across at 01 from under his black bowler, his dark bangs hiding most of his pale forehead.

Heero was feeling very uncomfortable. He knew that he had to say something to the boy across from him, but he didn't know what. He knew that 'how are you?' might end in another bout of water-works, but he didn't know what else to say. 

"So… how have you been?"

Sandrock smiled wanly. "I've been coping. The office workers keep trying to get me to take over my father's position immediately. In the past, I would have declined until I finished school…. But now," his face hardened into a look of fierce determination, "I think I might accept."

Heero shook his head, his grey and crimson fringe revealing more of his eyes and forehead for a moment. "Not advisable."

Sandrock opened his mouth of object, but 01 cut him off. "Taking complete control would only make you more dangerous in his eyes. Treat him like nothing's wrong between you two. Let him unofficially run the business for a while until you feel you're 'emotionally prepared'. Just don't do that."

Sandrock squirmed in his seat. The advice rubbed him wrong. He wanted Treize to feel justice, and he wanted it to happen now. He never wanted to see the twisted bad of contempt again.

"He.. Heero, can you teach me?" Sandrock said taking the conversation to a more personal note by using his name.

"mm?" Heero looked up from where he had been watching Shinigami and Shenlong competing at a game of pinball and yelling at one another as their secretary stood behind them, still in a suit while her bosses wore denim and t-shirts, holding a pile of forms and frowning. "What do you want to learn?"

"How to fight." 

Heero blinked, then focused his attention on the fragile seeming boy opposite him. "Negative, it will only arouse suspicion."

Sandrock thumped his hands down on the table, and stood up. "I don't care about suspicion! My father is dead, and the person who killed him is so close I could spit on him! I just want to know that I'm not an easy target for him as well! I don't want to be a victim or someone that needs protection! I want to know that I'll be alright, and that Treize wont…" Sandrock sat down, his voice cracking, and sobbed bitterly into the sleeves of his black coat.

01 stared impassively down at him, unsure what to do or say. He hadn't breathed or blinked the whole way through. No training could prepare him for that sort of thing. 

A waitress, clearly uncomfortable with what she had to do, timidly approached their booth, her drinks tray held against her chest like a safety device.

"Um… sir, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave…" she murmured, looking down at her shoes. 

Sandrock nodded miserably and wiped his nose on his sleeve, all traces of dignity gone. Triton ushered his friend to his feet and shot 01 a glare that promised a slow and agonising death. 

Shinigami watched the scene with his heart twisting, poked Shenlong on the arm and offered him control of the pinball machine. He smiled wearily at his secretary, and brushed past her to the door.

*~*~*~*

01 stared miserably after Shinigami. He tried to keep friends, but his training kept getting in the way. He had no idea what to do in situation with excessive emotions. His brain just froze. Here was the boy that captured wanted criminals and serial killers, could handle at least twenty kinds of guns and knew everything from kick boxing to Tai Chi. That didn't stop him from being a bastard.

Cursing his inability to remove his foot from his mouth, 01 allowed himself a rare display of emotions by sighing and lowering his head into his hands. How was he supposed to protect Sandrock if he couldn't keep Sandrock from blowing up in his face?

Heero resigned himself to his fate, and stood up, determined to follow Sandrock and tell him that he would after all teach the boy. It was the least he could do.

01 poked his head out of the door to the chat room, but saw no one. Shinigami had obviously gone to comfort the boy, but would not leave his business partner for too long. They still had things to deliberate over. Because of this, 01 believed that they would not leave the circle of light at the doorstep. Odd. 

01 peered suspiciously back inside, and to his surprise, Shinigami was once again playing pinball. 

Sandrock and Triton were nowhere to be found. 

*~*~*~*

Duo joined the two huddled figures in the circle of light outside the bar. 

"Hey," Shinigami started, shoving his pale hand into his armpits, "Don't worry about Hee-kun, okay? He's just doin' what he thinks his best for you."

"I know that," Sandrock sniffled.

"Hey, how about this? I'll teach you."

"What? But Duo, your health…"

"Ah," Shinigami said, waving it off, "That's what the internet's for. Just trust me. Deal?" Duo retrieved one of his hands and held it out.

Sandrock hesitated for a second, then clasped his gloved hands with Shinigami's.

"Deal."

"Great. Now you two get goin'. It's been a long night, and I don't want Shen-kun to beat my score, now do I?" Shinigami winked one large lilac eye at the two, then disappeared back inside.

He felt a small pang of pity for 01, who was still sitting in his booth, his head lowered into his arms. Duo steeled himself, then walked back over to the game corner.

He gave Marissa, their long-suffering secretary a weary smile, then bodily shoved Shenlong aside.

Wufei gave an indignant squeak, and glared daggers at his partner.

He was surprised to see that Duo was staring past the machine, and quietened down.

"Hey, Shenlong? What was Fubble Inc.(1) offering us for becoming one of our sponsors?"

Shenlong raised a thick eyebrow. "Ten-thousand a month, two copies of all their online games and a free ten-month subscription to whichever games we want."

Duo smiled at Wufei. "I say we take it."

Yay! No cliffie for Soulsearch-y! 

Kika: wow, is this a first?

Avalan: wow, is that the first time that you haven't had one in this entire story?

It just might be… hm… man I need a hobbie. *sigh*

Avalan: Isn't _writing_ your hobbie?

Kika: *pounces on Avalan* Fancy meeting you here. 

Oh yeah! It is! Go me.

Kika: maybe you need another one. Like becoming a suicidal manic.

(1): Heh. I just made this up. The game in the next chapter is a mixture of my favourite RPG game, Neverwinter Nights, and whatever other randomness comes out of my head at the time. Once again, go me.


End file.
